


The Poxie Plant

by ItsKhanfidential



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, F/F, Pre-Slash, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, might make this multi-chaptered?, we will see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 11:56:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16158503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsKhanfidential/pseuds/ItsKhanfidential
Summary: Claudia is a witch who owns an apothecary. Rayla is a vampire who needs a lot of help. Obviously, roadtrips are involved.





	The Poxie Plant

**Author's Note:**

> This was original posted to my tumblr but I decided to post it here because I liked it so much. Depending on the response I might make this into a multi-chapter fic. Anyways, enjoy!

Claudia traditionally considered herself a good-natured, even-tempered person, but sometimes she wondered if opening up her own shop wasn’t changing that about her. For what seemed like the tenth time, Claudia closed her eyes, exhaled, and then answered, “Ma’am, this is an apothecary. I don’t carry organic food preparation materials, specifically not farm-to-table quinoa.”

She could almost feel her blood pressure rise as the woman pointed an accusing finger at her, her keys jingling in her hand. “Then what exactly is this little shop of yours good for?”

“This is an apothecary. We supply herbs, salts, and other items of power for anyone who wishes to perform any sort of pagan witchcraft.” Claudia supplied, hoping the woman would leave it at that and get out of her shop, disappearing around the corner in the twilight.

The woman in front of the counter crossed her arms, huffed, and said, “Well, you won’t be getting my patronage any more. Who ever heard of a store that carries plants but doesn’t carry organic grains?” With this, she stomped out of the store, the doorbell jingling pronouncedly as she slammed her way out.

“Thank goodness.” Claudia murmured, and she slumped down against the counter, rubbing her temples soothingly. In the quiet of the empty shop she could hear the trickle of the electronic waterfall that sat along one of the walls, surrounded by crystals and herbs in an intricate setup meant to attract the eye.

A tabby cat hopped up onto the counter, and Claudia rubbed its head behind the ears absently as she recalled the ire she had already received from customers today. Sure, she had regulars and other customers who would come in and strike up friendly conversations about the month’s stars or the local news, but there were always those who did not find it in themselves to spare her a moment of patience.

She’d already had to deal with a regular customer who was upset that she would not give him a discount for a good. The worst yet today was a fuming man who came in today and refused to buy anything, instead raving and ranting about how “paganism is a sin against the Lord” and how she would “burn in hell for even entertaining the thought of invading the minds of the Good Christian Public with her Satanic propaganda.” It got to the point that she had to threaten to call the cops before he would leave.

Claudia sighed and adjusted the counter display half-heartedly as the cat rubbed against her affectionately. She looked down at the feline affectionately. “You’d never yell at me like that. Would you, Bait?”

Bait purred affectionately in response.

Claudia smiled and chuckled, before checking her watch. “Oh! It’s almost closing time. I didn’t even realize it had gotten so late.” She pulled out her keys and began to lock up the register, before heading over to the waterfall and switching it off. The water trickled to a stop and pooled in the bottom of the contraption.

Outside, the slim light left from the brilliant afternoon before was slipping away quickly, and Claudia watched out the windows curiously, waiting for the streetlights to turn on. When they didn’t turn on after a few minutes, Claudia moved on to pull down the blinds on the windows, Bait following her on the shelves with a look of disinterest splayed across his feline features.

Claudia turned to lock up the door, and just as she did, a figure rushed up to the door out of the darkness, a hand shooting out and latching onto the outside latch. Claudia jumped back in shock, fear and adrenaline threatening to break out in the pit of her stomach before she looked up and realized that it was only a girl, about Claudia’s age, a dark hoodie pulled up over bright eyes which were looking in at her with a pleading expression.

Claudia sighed, annoyed with the sudden appearance of a las customer, but opened the door nonetheless. “Come on in.” She invited. Behind her, Bait hissed and scampered behind the counter. Claudia closed the door behind the girl, curious at Bait’s reaction.

“I’m so, _so_ sorry,” The girl began in a thick accent. She stepped inside quickly as she pulled down her hood, revealing a shock of white hair. A bright blush was plastered across her features. “I don’t mean to force you to stay open past closing but I _really_ need your help.”

“Relax, it’s okay.” Claudia answered, kindness in her voice, as she stepped behind the counter. “What can I do you for today?”

The girl stood there, seemed paralyzed, as if momentarily afraid to speak. She fidgeted as she searched for her words. Claudia would almost describe the way she looked down at her hands shyly as adorable. “I have a… problem.” She began. “I go to night classes at the university nearby, and I have this biology class that I’m not doing too well in, and the professor offered extra credit if we do an extra lab that is outdoors, but the problem is that…” She stopped again, met Claudia’s eyes momentarily, then shifted back down again. “I can’t go out into the sunlight, or my skin will be burned.”

Claudia took a moment to process the words, her jaw gradually dropping open and her eyes widening. She leaned forward, pointing excitedly, “Are you- Are you a vampire?”

The girl flushed deeply. “Yes, but I-“ Claudia nearly erupted with glee. “Oh! Oh! I’ve never met a vampire before!” She was practically jumping up and down. “I mean, my dad told me about them and how vampirism works but I’ve never actually met a real vampire before!”

The girl’s embarrassment quickly slid into annoyance as she replied brusquely, “Well, now you have. Congrats.”

“Do you drink animal blood, or human blood? Oh! And were you turned, or were you burn a vampire! And did Dracula really exist, or is that fake?” Claudia shot off, talking as rapidly as possible, hoping that she could ask every last question on her mind.

“Look, I’d love to answer all the questions you want, _later_.” The girl answered, her annoyance dripping into her voice. “But right now, I really need your help with something.” When Claudia nodded and seemed to calm down, the girl continued her original train. “I know this is a last-hope act of desperation, but I was wondering if you have anything at all that could allow me to go out into the sunlight, even if it’s just for an hour.”

Claudia furrowed her brow and lifted a hand up to tap her chin as she deliberated. “Well, I certainly don’t remember carrying anything with those abilities, but I suppose such an herb or mineral could feasibly exist. I’m sure I could find something on it.”

“Anything you can do, anything at all, would be such a big help.” The girl pleaded. Claudia stopped, and snapped, looking back at the girl. “I might have something in the back. Do you want to come back with me?”

The girl’s eyes lit up with hope, and she nodded and followed Claudia behind the counter. “I’m Claudia, by the way. I own this store.”

“I’m Rayla.” The girl answered, looking around the room with curiosity painted across her face. Claudia followed her line of site and gazed across the variety of herbs which hung from racks, drying slowly, as well as an entire wall of jars which contained strange appendages and dark masses within murky green waters.

“Have you ever been inside an apothecary, Rayla?” Claudia asked as she unlocked a final door.

“I can’t say I have, no. Maybe when I was real young, but I can’t remember ever seeing a place like this.” Rayla supplied, a smile echoing across her lips. Claudia unlocked and opened the door to a small and cramped room which contained two rows of shelves that were piled with files, loose papers, binders, textbooks, ancient tomes, and slim books with dark and crumbling leather bindings.

“I’m sure I read about a plant that can do what you’ve described, once…” Claudia muttered, deft fingers tracing the spines of books before her, soundless words flitting across her tongue as she read to herself. Behind her, Rayla occupied herself with inspecting a dark, seaweed like plant that had been crammed into a small spice jar with a selection of berries. As she turned back around, Claudia was pulling a small, leather-bound book off of the shelf which was held shut by a thin red ribbon wrapped delicately around the binding. As she opened the first page, Rayla could read written there scrawling French written in a well-practiced hand.

As if seeing Rayla’s interest without looking up, Claudia explained, “This is the journal of a nineteenth century French-American explorer who traversed the area around the Great Lakes and catalogued what he found.” She leafed through the pages, careful to turn them delicately.

A minute was spent in near-silence as Claudia flicked pages and muttered indecipherable French under her breath. Rayla had become fully invested in inspecting the multitude of hanging herbs above her head when Claudia jumped up, book still in hand, and shouted, “Ah-ha!” which sent Rayla nearly jumping out of her skin.

“What is it?” She sat down across from Claudia and peered over the book to look at her, her eyes bright with hope.

Claudia blushed under the gaze, but despite this answered triumphantly. “I, uh, I think I found an herb that will do the trick. It’s called the Poxie Plant, but…”

“But?”

“But it’s only found in on the shores of Lake Huron.” Claudia sighed. “So we would have to travel all the way up there in order to find it.”

Rayla slumped, but then lifted her head. “This weekend is a three-day weekend!”

“Yeah…?” Claudia encouraged, unsure what Rayla meant. “I could drive up to Lake Huron and find the plant before my lab next week. It’s a ten hour drive, I could do that over three days no sweat!” Rayla explained, her eyes lit up with the same triumph that had just previously dimmed in Claudia’s.

“But you don’t even know what it looks like? How are you going to find it?” Claudia dug, her voice still stinging with disappointment.

“Well, Claudia,” Rayla smirked, and she reached across the table to grab Claudia’s hand. “How would you feel about a road trip?”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my tumblr [here](https://lordvelcro.tumblr.com/)


End file.
